NRRO HSUS Thanks Everyone!

When artists donate to the HSUS NRRO it goes into a special fund called AHAT.

Here's what Dave Pauli, NRRO Director of HSUS answers about the AHAT fund.

Question: How does the AHAT fund help NRRO?

First... let me personally thank YOU for your continued contributions to the AHAT fund via donation of a percentage of your artwork sales. Your generosity touches the lives of many different animals each month. The AHAT fund is one of six "restricted use" special funds that the NRRO maintains. ( we also have an Alaskan Outreach/ Spay Neuter/ Wildlife rescue/ Native Nations/ and Rescue Trailer funds) Restricted use is just that... restricted to that particular use.. the funds do not go to general operations and do carryover at years end if there is a balance. The AHAT fund was started 13 years ago as the way to fund our Animal Health Assessment Teams which provided county sheriffs with the trained teams to provide health assessment during cruelty cases or disasters teams. As mentioned previously... professional veterinary care is a key element of nearly every cruelty case or animal rescue. Any animal transported out of state needs a health certificate, and most require special meds or treatment. No HSUS regional office budget nor local humane society budget seemed to ever have the contingency funds to pay for these necessary and often life-saving services.

The AHAT fund never really gets very large, and has on several occasions evaporated ...as the demands for DVM services, special care, meds or special diets always appear. Last month I made a trip to the grocery store and frugally spent almost $50 to buy a months special diets needed to feed the injured pelican, soft diet rat, seven turtles, feral cats and litter of rez dog pups that were in our system. The regular budget of The HSUS regional office is simply not set up with a line item for frozen smelt, and the other special needs diets for this menagerie! So the AHAT fund comes to the rescue every week and allows us to reach out and improve the lives of animals that we otherwise could not. The AHAT fund is truly the go to restricted use account that makes the emergency treatment of many many animals possible